Samsung and PayPal Could be Teaming Up for Smartwatch-Based Mobile Payments

Last week Apple made a big deal out of the fact that the Apple Watch was NFC enabled and could be used to authorise mobile payments without having to pull out your phone or wallet. But this new fangled system of watch-payments doesn't end there since PayPal is rumoured to have partnered with Samsung to bring a similar system to a new Samsung smartwatch.

According to Business Korea, a high ranking Samsung official confirmed that one of the company's third-generation smartwatches will offer "simple payment functions" powered by PayPal and protected by "fingerprint identification technology". So a bit like the mobile payment system included in the Galaxy S5 then.

It did seem a little strange that PayPal is being left out Apple new devices at first. This could have been a move by Apple to prevent PayPal (and other virtual wallets) from directly competing with Apple Pay. Then again it could also be that this Samsung deal is where PayPal is placing all of its chips. It certainly wouldn't be the first time Samsung got special PayPal features either.

The reports indicate that early 2015 is the time-frame for the new payment-centric watch to be released, roughly the same as the Apple Watch and rumoured European launch of Apple Pay. While Apple Pay itself relies on deals with banks and credit card companies, PayPal has no such limitations -- which could prove incredibly advantageous. The service itself will reportedly launch in 25 countries simultaneously before eventually being available in more than 50 countries worldwide.

Apple Pay itself might well make mobile payments more mainstream, but it does seem that it won't be without fierce competition for marketplace dominance. [Business Korea via TechRadar]